Environmental Geochemistry and Biogeochemistry

Research in this area focuses on geochemical processes at the interface of Earth and life, including everything from microbial and human activities to ecosystems. Biogeochemical processes in natural Earth systems, and anthropogenic impacts on them, are investigated through geochemical and isotopic tracers for a variety of chemical constituents, including potential contaminants, combined with modeling of transport processes through soil, plant, and hydrologic systems.

The application of a wide variety of isotopic methods is a fundamental strength of our department’s research. Further, our understanding of present-day biogeochemical cycling is extended to the near and distant past through analysis of unique geochemical signals in lacustrine and marine depositional systems, providing constraints on ancient environments and processes.